CUSTOMER CARE

Archives :: Economics :: Prices

US ethylene spot prices have moved up this week, despite recent rescheduling that has pushed more cracker turnarounds back into April and May. The olefins market had expected a heavy slate of turnarounds in March, but April is now expected to see the highest amount of offline capacity for 2016...

The US aromatics market has firmed this week on the back of an expected increase in octane demand, shrugging off a recent start-up that could bring more capacity online soon. Lower imports and styrene restarts are expected to tighten the market going forward, as will a decline in selective toluene disproportionation (STDP) rates in May and June....

The US propylene market has shown little-to-no reaction to the news that Flint Hills Resources (FHR) is restarting equipment at its Houston facility, home to a 658,000 m.t./year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit. FHR shut the PDH unit down for planned maintenance one week earlier....

The US March benzene contract is expected to drop for a third consecutive month on the back of weak fundamentals. Ample supply, soft demand and a weak energy market over the past four months have pressured benzene prices lower. Crude oil futures increased steadily this past week, and gasoline futures were more volatile, but the spot benzene market continued to weaken....

US retail gasoline prices continue to hover at levels not seen since the Great Recession, due to ample supply and low crude oil costs, according to automobile organization AAA. Gas prices are likely to rise as spring refinery maintenance season gets underway, but they should remain lower than in recent years....

Americas Styrenics (AmSty; The Woodlands, TX) says it has cut polystyrene prices. Effective 1 February, the transaction price of general-purpose grades of polystyrene (GPPS) has been reduced by 2 cts/lb, and the transaction price of high-impact grades of polystyrene (HIPS) has been reduced by 3 cts/lb....

The US January ethylene net transaction contract settled lower for the second consecutive month on Tuesday, coming on the back of strong operating rates, healthy supply and bearish sentiment during January. The January ethylene net transaction (NT) contract price settled at 24.75 cts/lb, down by 1.00 ct/lb from December....

Strong demand and shipping inquiries from Asia have put a strain on cargo space for US petrochemical exports, pushing up freight rates out of the US. The primary driver has been expanding US methanol production capacity, but strong Asian interest in US para-xylene (p-xylene), styrene, ethanol and ethylene dichloride has also¬† contributed to the pinch. Compounding the problem, two major shippers were unable to move any material during January, according to ship brokers Netco....

The US February benzene contract settled at $1.84-1.85/gallon today, down 27-28 cents/gal from the previous month on the back of continued weakness in energy futures. The decline was in line with expectations, following an overall decline in benzene spot prices through January. Prompt benzene spot prices yesterday were at $1.84-1.86/gal, down from $2.08-2.10/gal at the start of the month....

US aromatics spot prices on Wednesday saw little movement as domestic crude inventory rose to its highest level on record, and NYMEX WTI crude futures firmed. US crude and gasoline inventory were both higher for the week that ended on 22 January, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) earlier in the day....

US January propylene contracts settled lower on Tuesday, coming on the back of bearish market sentiment and stable inventories. The decline, the first in three months, was in line with weaker spot prices this week....